What does Exodus 12:6 mean?
The prior verse (Exodus 12:5) included four requirements for lambs to be used for the very first Passover (Exodus 12:1–4). The animals must be year-old male sheep or goats without any defects, injuries, or illnesses. These are to be selected on the tenth day of the month and set aside from the rest of the flock. Here, Israel is instructed to keep the lambs until the fourteenth day and to sacrifice the animals at a particular time. This time is "twilight," the period just after sunset when there is still some light in the sky (Exodus 16:12; Deuteronomy 16:6).Once again, this passage uses an expression translated as "the congregation of Israel" (Leviticus 4:13; Numbers 16:9) to mean all of the people: the nation as a whole. Next will come instructions on how to use the lamb's blood and meat to complete the Passover rituals (Exodus 12:7–10).